First  Settled  In  This  Country  About 


1639. 


THE  DESCENDANTS  IN  BUCKS. 


Henry,  Son  of  Nicholas  Wynkoop,  at 

One  Time  Associate  Judge  of  Com¬ 
mon  Pleas  of  Bucks  County — Mili¬ 
tary  Records  of  the  Family. 

An  interesting  paper  on  “The  Wyn¬ 
koop  Family,”  was  read  at  the  May 
meeting  of  the  Bucks  County  His¬ 
torical  Society  at  Warminster  on 
Tuesday,  May  27,  by  Capt.  William 
H.  Wynkoop,  of  Newtown.  He  read 
as  follows : — 

In  giving  the  origin  of  our  old 
families  most  writers  commence 
“Once  upon  a  time  two  brothers  came 
over  from  the  old  country  and  settled,  ’  ’ 
etc.,  etc.  So  the  Wynkoop  family 
dates  back  to  1639  and  1642,  when 
Peter  and  Cornelius  Wynkoop  came  to 
this  country  from  Utrecht,  Holland, 
and  settled  near  where  the  city  of  Al¬ 
bany,  N.  Y. ,  now  stands. 

Like  other  old  families  we  boast  of 
our  coat  of  arms,  yet  the  crest  is  the 
only  part  which  savors  of  heraldry. 
The  name  appears  to  be  a  contraction 
of  Wynkooper,  which  in  the  Dutch 
language  signifies  wine-merchant  or 
wine-bearer. 

When  in  Holland  in  1889,  my  wife 
and  I  spent  part  of  a  day  in  Utrecht, 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether 
the  family  name  is  still  in  use  there. 
We  found  the  “  koop”  as  a  termina¬ 
tion  to  several  names  such  as  “Van- 
derkoop,  ”  etc.,  but  none  with  full 
name  of  Wynkoop  or  Wynkooper.  It 
is  not  my  purpose  to  write  a  genealogy 
of  the  family  for  our  records  embrace 
867  names  extending  down  from  1642 
through  ten  generations,  but  shall 
select  a  few  persons  who  from  time  to 
time  figured  prominently  among  the 
early  settlers  and  later  on  in  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  our  country,  either  in  leg¬ 
islative,  judicial,  religious  or  in 
military  life. 

We  are  glad  to  be  able  to  say  no  one 
of  our  ancestry  was  ever  hung  or  con¬ 
victed  of  any  serious  crime.  Among 
the  earliest  names  were  Peter,  Abra¬ 
ham,  David,  Deborah,  and  Daniel, 
showing  a  reverence  for  the  Bible  and 
sacred  records.  The  favorite  names 
as  carried  down  were  Peter,  20  times; 
Nicholas,  40 ;  Cornelius,  29  ;  William, 
28 ;  Henry,  29 ;  Catharine,  141 ;  John, 
39,  and  Mary,  31.  We  find  honorable 
mention  of  several  in  the  early  history 
of  New  York  State  but  in  1717  Gerrit 
or  Gerardus,  moved  with  his  family  to 


the  township  of  Moreland,  now  Mont¬ 
gomery  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  an  elder  of  the  church  of  North 
and  South  Hampton  in  our  county  in 
1744-5,  and  his  descendants  now  own 
and  occupy  land  in  Northampton  town¬ 
ship,  which  has  been  in  continuous 
possession  of  some  of  the  family  ever 
since. 

We  can  point  with  pardonable  pride 
to  a  long  line  of  elders  and  ministers 
running  through  eight  generations, 
who  have  been  closely  identified  with 
the  religious  element  of  our  country 
as  officers  in  the  local  churches  where 
they  worshipped.  Among  these  were 
Rev.  Silvester  Wynkoop,  pastor  of 
Reformed  Dutch  church  at  Catskill, 
1817,  and  of  whom  a  fellow  minister 
wrote  “the  memory  of  Dominie  Wyn¬ 
koop,  was  cherished  with  love  and  re¬ 
spect  by  the  entire  community.” 

Rev.  Richard  Wynkoop,  pastor  of 
Presbyterian  church  at  Yorktown, 
West  Chetser  county  N.  Y.,  1827-1834; 
Rev.  Jefferson  Wynkoop,  pastor  of  the 
Reformed  Dutch  church  at  Hempstead, 
N.  Y.,  1825-1836,  filling  serial  other 
successful  pastorates  after  'tfifefb  df tec  ; 
Rev.  Stephen  Rose,  son  of  Uavid  Wyn¬ 
koop,  who  represented  Bucks  county 
in  the  Legislature  six  or  seven  years, 
was  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Wilmington,  Del.,  1838  to 
1858.  In  1833-4  he  explored  the  west¬ 
ern  coast  of  Africa  on  behalf  of  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Rev.  Theodore  S.  Wynkoop  was 
pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Huntingdon,  L.  I.,  in 
1864 ;  subsequently  he  went  as  a  mis¬ 
sionary  to  India,  returned  to  this 
country  for  his  health,  was  elected 
pastor  of  Presbyterian  church  in 
Washington  D.  C.,  and  is  now  again 
in  India. 

Henry, 'son  of  David  Wynkoop,  lived 
and  died  in  Bucks  county.  He  served 
as  ruling  elder  in  Thompson  Memorial 
Church  of  Solebury  for  fifty-two  years 
and  was  known  only  to  be  beloved  by 
all  who  knew  him.  His  son,  Henry, 
Jr.,  married  Emily  G.  Nippes  a 
daughter  of  Anna  Kenderdine  and 
Henry  Nippes,  and  Anna,  daughter  of 
said  Henry  Jr.,  married  Lieut.  George 
Marvell,  so  the  Bucks  county  branch 
of  our  family  is  to  some  extent  related 
to  the  Kenderdine  family  of  whom  we 
hear  so  favorably  to-day. 

Ellen,  a  daughter  of  Henry  Sr.,  was 
recently  married  to  Samuel  T.  Buck- 
man  of  Newtown.  Two  of  her  sisters, 
Louisa  Ann  and  Harriet,  married  and 
are  still  living  in  suburbs  of  Phila¬ 
delphia. 

There  are  many  more  honored  names 
of  elders  and  deacons  who  were  identi¬ 
fied  with  Presbyterian  and  Dutch  Re¬ 
formed^  churches,  but  time  forbids  a 
personal  mention  in  this  paper. 

We  find  several  honored  members  of 
the  Bar  and  Judges  on  the  bench. 
Cornelius  C.,  was  an  attorney  at  law* 
in  1795,  practicing  in  the  courts  of 


Netf  York  city.  Gerardus  was  for 
nineteen  successive  years  a  member  of 
the  House  of  General  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania  and  for  a  series  of  years 
its  speaker.  He  died  in  1813.  Dirk 
or  Derick  was  a  member  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  of  safety,  and  of  the  Second 
Provincial  Congress  which  met  at  New 
York  November  14th,  1775.  He  was 
appointed  a  Judge  of  the  Common 
Pleas  of  Ulster  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1777, 
was  a  member  of  the  New  York  As¬ 
sembly  1780-1 ;  and  in  1788  a  member 
of  the  State  convention  to  which  was 
submitted  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Henry,  son  of  Nicholas  Wynkoop, 
was  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary 
Army,  and  at  one  time  an  Associate 
Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  of  Bucks 
county.  He  greatly  distinguished 
himself  by  the  active  and  determined 
part  he  took  in  favor  of  our  struggle 
for  independence.  He  served  as  a 
member  of  the  First  Provincial  Con¬ 
ference  of  Pennsylvania  which  con¬ 
vened  in  Carpenter’s  Hall,  Philadel¬ 
phia,  on  the  18th  of  June,  1776,  and 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  First 
Congress,*  which  assembled  at  New 
York,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1789. 
Judge  Wynkoop’s  house  was  distin¬ 
guished  as  the  home  of  Col.  Monroe — 
afterwards  President— during  the  time 
he  was  disabled  by  a  wound  received 
at  the  battle  of  Trenton.  It  was  the 
letter  of  General  Washington,  addressed 
to  his  friend  Wynkoop,  that  procured 
these  hospitable  quarters  for  Col. 
Monroe  and  for  whom  kind  attention 
from  the  family  of  Judge  Wynkoop. 
President  Monroe  as  late  as  March 
26th,  1834,  in  a  letter  expressed  the 
most  lively  gratitude  “for  the  kind¬ 
ness  received  during  an  interesting 
period  of  our  Revolutionary  War.” 

Gen.  Alexander  Hamilton  and  Judge 
Wynkoop  were  members  of  the  First 
Continental  Congress.  On  one  occa¬ 
sion  while  walking  on  Chestnut  street, 
Philadelphia,  the  General  was  urging 
very  strongly  the  claims  of  a  bill  be¬ 
fore  the  House,  for  which  he  desired 
to  secure  his  friend’s  support.  But 
the  Judge  desiring  to  avoid  the  dis¬ 
cussion,  because  he  was  adverse  to  the 
measure,  changed  the  subject  by  call¬ 
ing  the  General’s  attention  to  two  very 
beautiful  women  who  had  just  passed 
them.  The  conversation  was  not  re¬ 
sumed  ;  but  forty-eight  hours  after¬ 
ward  Mrs.  Wynkoop  arrived  quite 
unexpectedly,  having  traveled  all 
night  in  consequence  of  a  letter  re¬ 
ceived  from  General  Hamilton,  request¬ 
ing  her  immediate  presence,  as  her 
husband  was  in  a  very  dangerous  con¬ 
dition.  The  joke  was  well  taken  and 
caused  great  merriment  to  all  con¬ 
cerned. 

At  one  time  General  Washington, 
who  was  in  favor  of  styling  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  “His  Mightiness,”  asked  Gen¬ 
eral  Muhlenburg’s  opinion.  Judge 
Wynkoop  was  standing  by.  General 
Muhlenburg  replied  :  “If  all  the  in¬ 


cumbents  were  j to  have  the  command¬ 
ing  size  and  presence  of  yourself,  cr 
of  my  friend  Wynkoop,  the  title 
might  be  appropriate,  but  if  applied 
to  some  lesser  men  it  would  provoke 
ridicule.”  The  writer  has  in  his  par¬ 
lor  a  chair  used  by  the  Judge  in  his 
lifetime.  He  died  March  25th,  1816. 

Many  others  might  be  named,  but 
with  mention  of  Richard  a  son  of  Rev. 
Richard  fl'ynkoop,  we  will  turn  to  the 
military  record  cf  the  family.  He  was 
born  in  1829,  educated  at  Rutger’s 
College  afterwards  studied  law  in  New 
York  city,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
Bar  in  1852.  He  served  for  some  time 
in  New  York  Custom  House,  under 
Collector  Barney,  Draper  and  Chester 
A.  Arthur,  afterwards  President  of  the 
United  States.  He  wrote  in  his  leisure 
hours  a  genealogy  of  the  Wynkoop 
family  to  which  the  writer  is  indebted 
for  many  records  in  this  paper,  also 
was  the  author  of  several  poetic  effu¬ 
sions. 

Besides  those  prominent  in  civil  and 
religious  life,  our  family  has  ever 
been  loyal  to  our  flag  and  many  of 
them  took  up  arms  in  their  country’s 
defense.  We  mention  a  few  only. 
Adrian,  son  of  Cornelius  Wynkoop 
was  elected  major  of  the  First  Regi¬ 
ment,  Ulster  county,  N.  Y. ,  May  1st, 
1776,  and  in  October,  1776,  was  placed 
in  command  of  200  men  to  guard  the 
passes  of  the  Hudson. 

Cornelius  D.  was  appointed  Major 
of  the  Third  Regiment, same  company, 
June  30th,  1775,  and  promoted  to  Lieut. 
Col.  of  same  regiment  August  2d,  1775. 
He  was  made  Col.  April  11th,  1776, 

and  received  honorable  mention,  in  the 
archives  of  that  day. 

Evert,  a  son  of  Cornelius,  Jr.,  was 
a  Captain  in  the  old  French  war  and 
died  of  camp  fever,  1750.  Jocobus, 
son  of  Cornelius  Wynkoop,  was  elceted 
Captain  of  the  4th  N.  Y.  Continental 
Regiment,  August  15th,  1775,  and 
transferred  to  naval  service  on  recom¬ 
mendation  of  Major  Gen.  Schuyler, 
to  take  command  of  all  the  vessels  on 
the  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  near 
Ticonderoga.  He  had  the  misfortune 
to  offend  Gen.  Benedict  Arnold  by  re¬ 
porting  to  Gen.  Gates  instead  of  him, 
and  was  ordered  under  arrest,  but 
Gen.  Schuyler  had  him  reinstated  and 
he  retained  his  command  until  the 
evacuation  of  Ticonderoga. 

Francis  Murray  Wynkoop  was  born 
1820  and  on  the  13th  of  December,  1857, 
while  hunting  birds  to  tempt  the  de¬ 
licate  appetite  of  his  wife  was  acci¬ 
dentally  shot  and  died  in  half  an  hour. 
During  the  Mexican  War  he  enlisted 
as  a  private  under  Gov.  Shunk  s  call 
for  volunteers,  was  elected  Col.  of 
the  regiment,  was  at  the  capture  of 
Vera  Cruz,  in  the  battles  of  Cerro- 
Gordo  and  Human tla,  exhibiting  great 
skill  and  bravery,  and  received  honor¬ 
able  mention  in  the  autobiogarphy  of 
Gen.  Winfield  Scott.  Under  President 
Pierce  he  was  U.  S.  Marshal  of  the 


^<jlcK5  Co  •  h  «6T,  50C.  4/  3o  Up 


eastern  district  of  Pennsylvania.  Our 
honored  president,  Gen.  W.  W.  H. 
Davis,  fought  by  his  side  during  the 
Mexican  War,  and  will  bear  testimony 
of  his  soldierly  ability. 

Edward  H.  Wynkoop,  brother  of 
Francis,  was  Major  of  a  Colorado  regi¬ 
ment  performed  perilous  and  efficient 
service  against  the  rebels  in  New 
Mexico  and  against  the  Indians,  and 
was  one  of  the  members  of  the  original 
Pike’s  Peak  expedition. 

Another  of  the  Bucks  county  branch 
was  John  Estill  Wynkoop,  Col.  of  the 
20th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  and  com¬ 
manded  a  brigade  at  Cumberland, 
Md.,  in  war  of  1861-4.  His  brother, 
George,  was  Lieut.  Col.  of  the  98th 
Pennsylvania  Infantry  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  where  he  was  wounded  and  re¬ 
signed  in  consequence. 

The  writer  of  this  paper  served  over 
three  years  in  war  of  ’61-4, as  private, 
Sergeant,  Second  Lieutenant  ,  First 
Lieutenant  and  Captain ;  was  three 
times  wounded  and  at  the  time  of  his 
discharge  was  on  the  staff  of  Brig. 
Gen.  Davies,  Greggs  Cavalry  division, 
Army  of  Potomac,  acting  as  Asst. 
Adjt.  General. 

His  brother  Thomas  H.,  was  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  Gen.  Davis’  104th  regiment, 
from  Bucks  county  and  was  killed  in 
action  June,  1862.  The  G.  A.  R. 
Post,  of  Newtown,  was  named  in  his 
honor.  A  number  of  others  of  the 
name  served  honorably  in  the  wars  of 
our  country,  but  space  forbids  further 
mention. 

Thomas  L.,  father,  of  the  writer, 
always  lived  in  Bucks  county.  Three 


of  his  children  still  survive,  Catharine, 
William,  and  Samuel.  He  was'  for 
many  years  a  prominent  officer  in  the 
Presbyterian  church  at  Newtown.  He 
died  in  1879.  His  brother,  Gerardus, 
lived  near  Newtown  during  a  long  life 
and  died  in  1888.  Four  children  still 
survive  him,  viz:  Susan  B.,  widow 
of  Elias  E.  Smith,  M.  D.  ;  Emeline, 
wife  of  William  Patterson,  of  Doyles- 
town ;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Elijah  Tor- 
bert,  and  Matilda,  wife  of  John  L- 
Janney. 

One  sister,  Anna  Maria,  married  N. 
I.  Rubinkam,  of  Hartsville,  and 
lived  near  where  we  meet  to-day.  Two 
of  her  sons  were  educated  for  the  min¬ 
istry,  one  of  whom  died  early  in  life, 
the  other,  Rev.  N.  I.  Rubinkam,  D. 
D.,  has  been  pastor  of  churches  in 
Philadelphia,  Jamestown,  N.  Y. ,  and 
Chicago.  Another  son,  Jesse,  died 
recently  of  disease  contracted  in  the 
war  of  1861,  his  brother,  G.  W.  Rub¬ 
inkam,  Esq.,  is  to-day  an  active  elder 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Ne- 
shaminy  and  favorably  known 
throughout  Bucks  county. 

The  temptation  is  great  to  continue 
these  recollections,  for  there  are  many 
others  equally  deserving  of  mention  as 
the  few  selected,  but  I  must  forbear. 
Hoping  that  my  paper  may  not  savor 
too  strongly  of  egotism,  but  that  much 
may  be  excused  as  pardoi  able  pride  of 
ancestry,  I  will  close,  knowing  full 
well  there  are  other  families  in  our 
county,  whose  history  not  yet  written 
is  fully  equal,  if  not  more  creditable, 
than  our  own. 


•9! 


Of  President  Roosevelt  in  Chester 
County. 


LIKE  THOSE  IN  THIS  COUNTY. 


They  Were  of  Scotch-lrish  Origin — 
Chester  County  Dunwoodys  Were 
Maternal  Ancestors  of  the  Chief  Ex¬ 
ecutive — Removed  to  Georgia. 

In  a  rcent  issue  of  The  Republican  was 
published  an  account  of  the  Scotch-lrish 
ancestors  of  President  Roosevelt  who  were 
residents  of  Bucks  county,  an  article  in 
Saturday’s  North  American  gives  an  ac¬ 
count  of  other  Scotch-lrish  progenitors  of 
the  President  being  the  ancestors  of  his 
mother,  Martha  Bullock.  The  Bucks 
county  branches  were  ancestors  of  his 
grandmother,  Margaret  Barnhill.  The 


North  A.merican  article  is  as  fol¬ 
lows: — 

A  stone  in  the  graveyard  at  Brandywine 
Manor,  Chester  county.  Pa.,  bears  this 
inscription:— 

In  Memory  of 
JOHN  DUNWOODY, 

Who  departed  this  life  the  17th 
day  of  September,  1776, 
aged  69  years. 

My  flei-h  ►hall  slumber  in  the  ground 
Tdl  the  last  joyful  trumpets  sound, 

Then  burst  tne  chains  with  sweet  surprise, 
And  in  my  Saviour’s  image  rise. 

This  stone  marks  the  last  resting  place 
of  the  first  Scotch-lrish  ancestor  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Roosevelt,  who  came  to  this  country 
and  settled  in  Londonderry  township, 
Chester  county,  Pa. ,  about  1736. 

There  was  quite  a  Scotch-lrish  settle¬ 
ment  in  Londonderry  township  about  this 
time  and  Presbyterianism  seems  to  have 
embodied  their  chief  religious  faith,  for  a 
Presbyterian  Church,  widely  known  from 
that  time  to  this  as  “Faggs  Manor”  was 
first  built  by  this  Scotch-lrish  element 
about  1730. 

ANCESTOR  A  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Tradition  says  John  Dunwoody  taught 
school  at  Fagg’s  Manor,  which  is  located 


in  the  southern  part  of  the  township. 
His  name  appears  on  the  records  of  Chester 
county.  Pa.,  In  1737,  as  a  single  man  in 
Londonderry  township.  In  1740  he  is  taxed 
as  a  married  man,  but  is  then  located  in 
West  Nantmeal  township,  in  the  same 
county,  near  where  the  Scotch-Irish  of 
that  time  had  built  another  Presbyterian 
Church  almost  as  widely-known  as'Fagg’s 
Manor.  The  name  of  the  latter  is  Brandy¬ 
wine  Manor. 

A.  little  love  affair  is  responsible  for 
John  Dunwoody’s  removal  to  Brandywine 
Manor.  While  he  was  a  school  teacher  at 
Fagg’s  Manor  he  met  and  fell  in  love 
with  Susanna  Criswell,  aged  16  years,  a 
daughter  of  William  Criswell, of  the  same 
neighborhood.  John  was  without  real 
estate,  and  the  young  woman  refused  to 
marry  him  unless  he  would  buy  a  farm. 

A  number  of  the  Criswell  family  came 
from  the  old  country  with  the  Dunwoodys 
and  they  were  all  a  sturdy  race  of  good 
Scotch-Irish  farmers.  Land  was  cheap  in 
Chester  county  at  that  time  so  that  the 
young  woman’s  request  was  probably 
neither  unnatural  nor  harsh.  At  any  rate, 
it  was  promptly  complied  with, and  tradi¬ 
tion  s.iys  when  John  bought  a  farm  in 
West  Nantmeal  township,  where  he  soon 
took  his  yonng  wife,  she  was  pronounced 
the  handsomest  woman  who  entered 
Brandywine  Manor  Church. 

COMES  FROM  NORTH  OF  IRELAND. 

The  two  families  had  had  some  inter¬ 
marriages  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  before 
the  immigration,  and  this  was  the  first 
instance  of  a  marriage  of  a  Dun  woody  and 
Criswell  in  the  new  country.  Robert 
Dun  woody,  a  son  of  this  couple,  married 
Mary  Criswell,  a  first  cousin,  in  London¬ 
derry  township,  about  1780.  Eight  child¬ 
ren  were  born  to  John  Dun  woody  and 
wife.  Among  the  oldest  of  the  children 
was  one  James,  who  studied  medicine  and 
went  to  Georgia  to  practice  his  profession. 
A  daughter  of  Dr.  James  Dunwoody 
married  Hon.  John  Elliott,  U.  S.  Senator 
from  Georgia. 

Mrs.  Elliott’s  granddaughter,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Bullock,  married  the 
father  of  President  Roosevelt  and  became 
the  mother  of  the  future  President  of  the 
United  States.  This  makes  Mrs.  Elliott 
the  great-grandmother  of  the  President 
and  Dr.  James  Dunwoody  his  great-great¬ 
grandfather,  and  John  Dunwoody  and 
Susanna  Criswell  Dunwoody,  the  Scotch- 
-Irish  immigrants,  his  great  great-great- 
grandparents. 

A  number  of  the  Dunwoodys  and  Cris¬ 
wells  from  the  Londonderry,  Chester 
county, settlement, did  good  service  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  They  were  with 
Washington  at  the  battles  of  Brandywine 
and  Trenton,  and  crossed  the  Delaware 
with  him.  An  old  lady,  Mrs.  ;M.  J.  Collins 
who  is  still  living  in  West  Chester,  has 
frequently  heard  of  James  Criswell,  a 
Revolutionary  soldier, and  a  cousin  of  Dr. 
James  Dunwoody,  of  Wellsboro,  Colleton 
county, speak  of  his  personal  acquaintance 
with  Washington  and  of  the  great  faith 
the  latter  had  in  the  Scotch-Irish  element. 

SUCCESS  PREDICTED  FOR  ROOSE¬ 
VELT. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  a  letter 
written  by  the  Rev.  James  B.  Dunwoody, 
of  Walterboro,  Colleton  county,  S.  C. 


to  a  resident  of  West  Chester,  Pa.,  in 
1884:— 

“My  grandfather’s  name  was  James. 
He  was  a  physician,  skillful,  of  extensive 
practice  and  high  reputation.  He  settled 
rot  in  Savannah,  but  in  Liberty  county, 
Georgia,  where  he  married  an  admirable 
woman,  a  widow  with  a  good  estate,  who 
brought  two  sons,  John  and  James,  and 
one  daughter,  who  married  the  Hon.  John 
Elliott,  Senator  of  the  United  States  from 
Georgia.  *  *  *  *  Mrs.  Elliott's  family 
was  short-lived.  Of  her  grandchildren, 
Captain  James  Dunwoody  Bullock  has 
lately  brought  out  an  interesting  couple 
of  volumes  called  ‘The  Secret  Service  of 
the  Confederate  States.  ’  *  *  *  Captain 
Bullock  has  two  sisters,  one  of  whom  is 
married  to  a  very  worthy  lawyer  in  New 
York  city.  The  other  is  the  widow  of  the 
late  Theodore  Roosevelt, of  the  same  great 
city,  and  her  two  sons,  Elliott  and  Theo¬ 
dore,  are  rising  young  men  in  the  city. 

*  *  *  In  the  north  of  Ireland  we  have 
heard  that  our  ancestors  of  that  day 
married  into  a  family  of  the  name  of 
Criswell,  and  his  eldest  son  moved  over 
to  this  country.  My  grandfather  Dun¬ 
woody  was  a  determined  Whig  and  a  sur¬ 
geon  in  the  war  of  independence.  One  of 
my  grandfather’s  brothers  came  to  Georgia 
some  time  after  he  did.  He  died  early  in 
life.  I  think  his  name  was  Robert.  Dr. 
Dunwoody  assisted  the  widow  in  rearing 
the  children.” 

LEFT  A  LEGACY  OF  ONE  POUND. 

Samuel  Criswell. (of  Londonderry  town¬ 
ship,  Chester  county,  Pa.,  whose  will  was 
probated  in  1785,  named  his  son  James 
and  his  son-in-law,  Robert  Dunwoody,  as 
executors  of  his  will  But  Robert  re¬ 
nounced  his  right  to  letters  testamentary 
so  that  he  might  go  to  Georgia  at  that 
time. 

The  will  of  William  Criswell,  of  the 
same  township,  probated  in  1743,  has  this 
item  in  it:  “And  to  my  well-beloved 
daughter,  Susanna  Criswell,  now  wife  of 
John  Dunwoody,  my  son-in-law,  I  give 
and  bequeath  the  sum  of  one  pound.  ” 

Samuel  Criswell,  the  father  of  Mary, 
who  married  Robert  Dunwoody,  left  this 
said  daughter  £5.  John  Dunwoody’s  will 
is  on  record  in  Chester  county.  He  leaves 
his  son,  James,  five  shillings.  These 
records  tend  to  confirm  the  statments 
made  in  Rev.  James  B.  Dunwoody’s  let¬ 
ters.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Dunwoody  is  said  to 
be  still  living  at  the  age  of  86  years  in  a 
Walterboro,  S.  C.,and  was  lately  reported 
to  have  been  the  officiating  clergyman  at 
the  marriage  of  President  Roosevelt’s 
parents.  He  little  thought  when  he  wrote 
in  1884:  “And  her  two  sons,  Elliot  and 
Theodore,  are  rising  young  men  in  the 
city,  ’ ’  that  one  of  the  “two  sons,  ’  ’  was  des¬ 
tined  to  become  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 

It  is  remarkable  that  while  quite  a  num¬ 
ber  of  the  descendants  of  these  two  old 
Scotch-Irish  families  are  still  to  be  found 
in  Chester  county,  yet  many  more  are 
living  at  the  present  time  in  almost  all 
parts  of  the  country.  They  can  be  found 
in  almost  every  one  of  the  Southern  and 
Western  States  as  well  as  in  all  of  the 
Middle  States,  and  many  of  them  exhibit 
much  of  the  same  independent  and  aggres¬ 
sive  spirit  as  the  President  himself. 


